


All In The Name Of Science

by afteriwake



Series: 24/7 [7]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Children, Cute Ending, Cute Kids, Cute Sherlock, Domestic Fluff, Established Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, F/M, Fluff, Kid Fic, Married Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, POV Molly Hooper, Parentlock, Poor Molly, Sherlock Holmes Has a Heart, Sherlock Holmes and Feelings, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Fluff, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 12:22:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5248127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly gets a text from Sherlock about how she shouldn't plan on making a meal involving potatoes tonight. She isn't sure what to expect when she gets home, but it certainly wasn't a sitting room and kitchen full of science experiments involving potatoes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All In The Name Of Science

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thescienceofsherlolly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thescienceofsherlolly/gifts).



> So a friend of mine, **thescienceofsherlolly** needed a bit of a pick-me-up today, and asked for some cute parentlock fic where they have loads of kids and I thought of this series. I borrowed a prompt from **otpprompts** (" _Your OTP can do whatever you want them to on one conditions. The last line must be '…and that’s what happened to the potatoes.'_ ”) and got most of the science experiment ideas from [Science Junction](https://www.ncsu.edu/sciencejunction/station/experiments/potato/) and another one of the experiments from [Science Fair Adventure](http://www.sciencefairadventure.com/ProjectDetail.aspx?ProjectID=230).

Molly had gotten a text message from Sherlock at 3:24 that had left her quite perplexed. It had said _Do not plan meal for tonight involving potatoes. SH_ She wondered why on earth he would send that; they had at least twenty-five of them at home, possibly more than that; she hadn’t taken the time to sit there and count exactly how many potatoes they had in the flat. And she had been considering making au gratin potatoes to go with the ham that she had picked up on sale the week prior that needed to be used soon, perhaps with some fresh green beans.

When she got off work she made a quick run to the market for the green beans and, just to err on the side of caution, picked up a small bag of potatoes as well, just enough to cover a serving or two of au gratin potatoes for the five of them. But the closer she got to Baker Street the more the thoughts weighed on her mind. Why on earth would her husband send her that message? What scenario was she going to walk into when she set foot into her home? She had best steel herself for anything.

Once the cab pulled up she paid the driver and then went to get her sacks of groceries from the boot, and then went to the door. After rummaging around in her handbag a moment for her keys she found them and managed to get the door open. Everything _seemed_ fine so far, she realized. There was no smell of burnt food in the air, nor any overpowering smell of any cleaning products to clean them up. There didn’t seem to be any problems as she got closer to the sitting room, either, or at least on the stairs.

Once she got to the top of the stairs, however, it was another matter.

One section of the floor was littered with potatoes hooked up to LCD digital clocks, held together with alligator clips by heavy gauge copper wire held between steel nails that were driven into the raw potatoes. Some of the clocks were working and some weren’t. On the coffee table in front of the sofa there were three of Sherlock’s beakers set up, the tall and skinny ones that Aileen and Jacquelyn had given to him for his birthday when he turned forty-two, and there were potato slices floating in them at various heights with the water being different colors. It looked as though there had been a spill at some point because there was a paper napkin with green food coloring tossed haphazardly by the beakers.

As she moved forward more, almost tripping over Rowena’s bag from school, she saw on the kitchen table what appeared to be potatoes wrapped in various things: aluminum foil, paper napkins, cling wrap, a dish towel…it even looked as though someone had brought out the nice linens they used when company came over. She’d have to have a talk to Sherlock about that. There were temperature probes stuck in various spots and she was almost afraid to look and see if one was stuck through the linen.

Next to the wrapped potatoes she saw that nearly every plate they had had been pulled out and there were all over the table. There were crumbs on them and she brushed a finger across the crumbs and brought them to her mouth, tasting them. Parsnip Crisps with Essex Honey & Black Pepper, she realized. She peered around the table and saw that the rubbish bin was overflowing with bags of crisps. At this rate she was wondering if they’d even have room for supper.

The four of them were all crowded around the stovetop, watching something there, as she neared them, she saw two saucers to the side, with one labeled “salted” and the other marked “unsalted.” The salted potato looked quite shriveled up by now. _What a waste,_ she thought to herself as she cleared her throat, setting down the sacks of groceries in her arms. None of them even looked at her, eyes still focused on the stove. “Sherlock, Aileen, Jacquelyn and Rowena, I would very kindly like an explanation for the state of the flat,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Science,” they said, nearly chorusing.

Molly sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she shut her eyes. “And just what experiment are you doing now?”

“We’re trying to determine potato time,” Rowena said brightly, turning to face her mother. “We’ve been boiling several different potatoes to get an average time and we’re making a time system based on that. And then we’ll answer questions based on that, like how long an episode of Doctor Who is, or how long a week is, or how old we are.”

“And then to take it a step further, we’ll see if it’s a logical system to use,” Jacquelyn said. She pushed her glasses up on her nose as she looked up. “We’ll see if it’s a good system to use or if traditional time is better, and what the advantages or disadvantages are. And then we could see what other things there are to base a time system on.”

“I see,” Molly said slowly. “And the wrapped potatoes with the temperature probes in them? What experiment was that for?”

“Insulation!” Rowena said, reaching for Molly’s hand to pull her to the table. Molly smiled at her daughter’s enthusiasm despite herself. “The aluminum foil worked best. That’s why Daddy said you wrap them in foil when you put them in the oven to make up baked potatoes.”

“It’s true,” Sherlock said from the stove, keeping his attention on the potato.

“I got bored with that one,” Rowena said. “I had more fun with the water one.”

“You would,” Aileen said from where she was leaning against the worktop. “You’re practically a water baby.”

Rowena stuck her tongue out at her oldest sister. “I’m not a baby!”

“Girls,” Molly said, shutting her eyes. “Can we please start cleaning up, at least? I have to start making dinner.”

“There’s no need,” Sherlock said.

“No?” Molly asked, confused.

He looked up. “As soon as this one is done boiling and the results have been recorded we’ll add it to the other ones that have been boiled, mash them up and by then the ham will have been done warming and the spinach soufflé should be done as well,” he said. Molly must have looked completely stunned because he gave her a grin. “You didn’t think I would let our daughters nearly destroy the flat in the name of science and not make sure dinner was nearly done by the time you returned home, did you? We’ve been married for nearly ten years now. I’ve learned.”

Molly felt herself grin at that before going over and giving her husband a kiss, even when their daughters made gagging noises as they usually did. “Yes, you certainly have,” she said, giving him a wide smile. “I feel that should be rewarded.”

“Tonight, then,” he said, pulling her close. “When we have some privacy.”

“Tonight then,” she said, giving him another kiss as a shiver of anticipation ran through her.

\--

She looked down at her belly, the first real signs of pregnancy showing. They hadn’t expected a fourth child. Hadn’t planned on it. But they were happy all the same, especially now that they knew it was a boy. She looked over at Mary, then picked up her tea, taking a sip.

“And that’s what happened to the potatoes.”


End file.
